Soulmates
by Darling-Corinna
Summary: 25 one-shots of ByaRen romance, starting with chapter A: Animalistic. My Alphabet Challenge, as well as My Top 25 Most Played Songs as inspiration. Enjoy; R&R.


_Please enjoy. All reviews are extremely appreciated. This is a collection of 25 one-shots of delish ByaRen. Each one is all by itself, meaning you can skip around and take relaxing breaks whenever you want. All for your pleasure._

_Chapter one has some shameless seduction. Huzzah! :D Don't worry, there will be plenty of variety and tasty situations._

_Thank you. I hope you all like._

_The song Animal is by Neon Trees._

_~~~AnimalisticcitsilaminA~~~_

"**Here we go again. I kinda wanna be more than friends, so take it easy on me.**

**I'm afraid you're never satisfied. Here we go again. We're sick like animals; we play pretend.**

**You're just a cannibal and I'm afraid I won't get out alive. I won't sleep tonight."  
**

"Are you unable to assist in their improvement, Abarai?" Byakuya asked quietly, hands folded behind his back and eyes crisp as they slashed over every person in the room. The ones who weren't cut down by the cold stare looked right at Renji, waiting for his response to the challenge.

It had been hours since they began, and the shadows in the room had gone from long and dark to soft with the artificial light. The taller man looked down at his superior, studying the pointy look quickly before turning to the lower members of the squad.

"You guys can go," he said, waving towards the door. "We'll meet later." Byakuya didn't watch the men shuffle out of the small training room, instead leaving his gaze on the redhead.

"I have noticed that recently you have been… slacking off when it comes to keeping your form in top condition," the noble said, his eyes unwavering and daring. The upward tilt of his chin was intimidating Renji; he knew what was going to come next. He could only try to defend himself.

Without another word, a tan arm was thrown up in front of his face, blocking the stiff swipe of the wooden blade. There was no dramatic pause for conversation; each blow came in succession and pushed Renji back until his heels were dangling off the edge of the floor.

Leaping back, the raven reassessed his target before disappearing.

It had been like this for a while now. Renji would gather a small group from the division and train them in newer and more effective techniques he had learned from Urahara. Each week, the group seemed to be getting stronger and faster. And the lieutenant was under the impression that he was as well.

But his captain apparently had a different insight.

For the past ten weeks, the pale man had been showing up during the last three minutes of practice, holding his own wooden sword and politely waiting for the lesson to finish before facing Renji privately. But today was different; he had actually interrupted them four minutes before they were supposed to wrap up. This left the tattooed man puzzled. Was there a sudden urgency that the Kuchiki had come across, or was this the next phase of his testing and stretching of Renji's limits?

"Captain," he grunted as a strike connected with his solid abdomen, causing him to choke and take a few steps to the side. There was no answer, and he stiffened and tried to hone in on the invisible man. The next attack was almost blocked, but at the last moment was bent and shoved into his ribs roughly. Renji could only repeat his call, waiting for his captain to get the message and pause.

He could not be satisfied like that, Byakuya had decided. It was from behind this time, a thick stab at the back of his knee in an effort to destroy his balance. But he curved backward for only a second before twisting and blocking the follow-up offensive.

"Abarai."

Kuchiki Byakuya would recognize his plea for recess for an appropriate amount of time.

"What's wrong? You aren't as strong as yesterday," Renji smirked, taking the hit face-on. His flesh burned and tore apart for a second before his head recoiled and bounced back, brown eyes wild with excitement and teeth flashing a shit-eating grin.

"Do not waste time in an effort to distract me or summon up some sort of feelings that no longer occur with my maturation and strength."

"You're pretty chatty today, Captain," Renji gasped, allowing one of his legs to bend towards the ground. "Something you've been thinking about?"

"The sharpest minds always have something on the cutting board," Byakuya muttered gently, stepping into Renji's personal bubble and locking eyes with him once again. His mouth formed a soft scowl, his violet orbs still flat with disapproval. Before the redhead could open his coy lips and give his two cents, the shorter man had disappeared, leaving only the scent of spring behind him.

_~~~AnimalisticcitsilaminA~~~_

"You were early," Renji said, signing his name at the bottom of the sheet quickly before spinning it to dry the ink. "Did you really hafta cut us off this time?"

"It was purely coincidence. I sensed that you were ready for my arrival, and so I arrived," was the quick explanation before the sound of more ruffling papers. The lieutenant's stack was significantly smaller, leaving him with only a miniscule amount left to complete.

"Captain," the redhead looked at him straight-on. "Being predictable during a fight is stupid; you never do that."

"And because I did something that I apparently never do, that in itself was quite unpredictable, yes?"

Unfortunately he had a point, and with his point, Byakuya effectively shut Renji up. Standing and smoothing out the stack, the disgruntled man scratched his crimson head before stretching out both arms. He looked over at his captain, meeting the eyes that instantly escaped to the paper in front of them. Renji fought back a smirk and continued to stare at the noble, who seemed to be extremely occupied by the permission slip signature angle.

_Right._

It took a gallon or two of willpower to walk around his desk without swaggering or giving away any of his intentions. He let a single glance do the job for him, the casual turn of the shoulders as he made the corner and leaned against the wooden desk. Renji crossed his arms, looking straight ahead and straightening his back as much as he could in an attempt to look taller. Not that he needed to in order to overwhelm the already vertically-lesser Kuchiki, but it couldn't hurt.

The only reaction he got was a hitch in the raven's exhale as he looked up. With a strong hand, he reached back to undo the ponytail. The redhead swallowed drily, shaking his hair until it fell evenly. His captain still hadn't looked down, and he chuckled before bending his head back to grab hold of a fresh ring of hair. Before the tie could be placed around it, a deep voice echoed around the office.

"Stop."

"Hm?" he asked, still looking straight ahead at the wall and pursing his lips in false confusion.

"Whatever you are trying to do, it is childish and disgraceful," Byakuya chastised, leaking some of his annoyance into his voice. "If you are done in the office, then finish up and find something more productive to do?"

"Now," Renji began, sliding his hooded eyes over to the grumpy man. "The hell would I do that, when I can stay here with you, Captain?"

"Do not play coy. You are not amusing anyone," the noble pointed out, setting down his brush and cupping his chin in one elegant movement.

"On the contrary," Renji chose this moment to forego his position against the desk in favor of strutting over to his captain's, putting one hand on the smooth surface and tracing circles with his fingertips. "I'm having so much fun I could just _die!_"

A small twitch broke the placid surface of Byakuya's face, and the tiny glimmer the redhead had been fishing for flashed through the violet eyes before they darted to the corner of the room. The hand that wasn't occupied with the desk-circle-tracing slid across the same surface and hovered over the pale hands that were folded on top. But he didn't dare touch; he would only tease.

"You have crude tactics," his voice was still silky, but the volume had been turned down so low that Renji had to strain to catch the words spread on Byakuya's mouth.

"But they're sure as hell working, aren't they?" His hand slid up the clothed arm, wrinkling the white fabric until it bunched. The thick fingers wrapped around the finish line: the pale chin that was right below the pink pair of candy lips that he wanted to taste so badly.

He leaned down, scarlet hair framing his excited features as he brushed noses with his captain. Renji smiled, elated at the fact that he had come very close without suffering too much abuse. But the eyes he had become so familiar with still stared straight through him, daring to stay open even during intimacy. But the tattooed man matched his bet, kissing him hard on the mouth and sharing irises with the warm man that was now rigid against his strong chest.

The two hands below him unhinged themselves, gripping at the front fold in the black robe and tugging sharply until their teeth clattered against one another's. Puffs of Renji's hot breath heated their faces as the smoldering exchange of tongues and tangible love continued.

"Damn," the word came out between quick kisses, and Byakuya was determined to keep them to a minimum. The rest of Renji's sentence was drowned out by the soft hum of delight that came from a hand tangling itself in his smooth hair. Long fingers danced between tendrils, taunting the scalp with feather-light touches and delicate tugs.

Renji wasn't sure when he had pulled his captain up onto the desk, his knees planted firmly on the wood and everything above pressed closely together. His muscular arms bent around the sleek body, holding Byakuya tenderly as he nibbled softly on his lower lip. The scent of spring was in the air again, this time filling the lieutenant's mind to the brim with dastardly ideas of how to continue this elsewhere.

His captain pulled away with a slightly gasp, eyes hooded and lips parted just enough to see his pretty teeth. The two hands were still rooted deeply in his hair, rubbing patterns all around and driving him crazy with want.

But they didn't need any more words. Only this moment, the flash of rest that landed Byakuya's head tucked neatly on one of Renji's broad shoulders and arms dangling lazily around the inked neck. The neck, in turn, was attached to a pair of arms and matching hands that were holding the small of Byakuya's back and heating up the shuddering body.

It hadn't mattered when things had come to this, or how. The sole fact that things had in fact come to this was more than enough to tie them together. How long had these feelings been growing and threatening to spill over into something more? How much had these two bodies wanted to feel each other like this?

Renji craned his neck to kiss a white shell of an ear gently. He whispered his lover's name into the same ear over and over again until their lips ghosted over one another's in the way that seemed like they always should be, always would be doing.

Byakuya ordered his silence harshly, raising an eyebrow without so much as a second guess and degrading the redhead to merely another commoner for the last time. Another warm sigh came from Renji, whose playful smile lit up his already flushed and elated face. Their foreheads touched, squishing smooth and slightly sweaty flesh together in a bunch.

The captain let his eyes shut for just a moment, tilting forward to peck Renji quickly before pulling away.

"I love you." Renji was certain.

Byakuya's lips turned up, albeit minutely, in response.

_~~~AnimalisticcitsilaminA~~~_

_I'm not quite sure what I think of this first chapter yet! :D It was plenty of fun to write, I assure you! _

_Review? Oh, you're precious. Fave? You're such a doll. Alert? You won't be disappointed._

_Next chapter: B_


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